LOVINGTON, N.M. – Jake McClure Arena is much like home to Logan Medlin.
Just 20 minutes or so from his family’s home near Tatum, New Mexico, Medlin cut his teeth roping at the massive arena inside the Lea County Fairgrounds in Lovington. Following in the footsteps of his father, Jeff, being a cowboy is just something natural for the 33-year-old cowboy.
Now in his 12th year competing in ProRodeo, he has continued to follow his dreams of becoming one of the greatest heelers ever. He’s qualified for the last four National Finals Rodeos and has finished as high as sixth in the world standings.
Medlin has won many big rodeos. He and Oklahoman Coleman Proctor became the first team ropers to win at the prestigious Calgary Stampede. They’ve won NFR go-rounds and titles in Cody, Wyoming; Puyallup, Washington; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Medlin won two straight college national titles a decade ago while competing at Eastern New Mexico University in nearby Portales.
He has yet to win his home rodeo in Lovington.
“That would be cool and would be something that would be checked off my bucket list,” said Medlin, the seventh-ranked heeler in the world standings. “It would also be cool if they gave a buckle or a trinket that you could show in the long term that you won it.
“I remember when I was a little boy and my dad won Lovington. That was pretty cool.”
Jeff Medlin is a pretty talented heeler, too. He twice qualified for the NFR, doing so in 1991 and 1996. He set a pretty high standard, but it’s one his son has surpassed in regards to playing on ProRodeo’s biggest stage. Only the top 15 contestants in each discipline at the end of the regular season advance to play for the biggest payday in the sport this coming December.
Doing it once is a sign of excellence. Doing it four times in a row is something spectacular, with Medlin and Proctor hoping to make it five straight. They will be two of 167 NFR qualifiers in the mix at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7-Saturday, Aug. 10; that also includes Lea County Xtreme Bulls, which is Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Of those, there are 37 world champions representing dozens of Montana Silversmiths gold buckles. While that’s always the goal, competing at an elite level is proof of Medlin’s place in the world of professional rodeo.
“I win something a lot of times when we compete at Lovington,” he said. “I’ve placed really good in the first round a couple of times, then had something go wrong, but I usually do decent there.
“I don’t know that it’s any tougher than where we go all the time. The best people in the world enter that rodeo. You have to draw good and rope good when you draw good. Anytime you go against the best people in the world, you have to have both of those things happen to have much luck.”
No matter his history, Medlin is excited to return to this year’s rodeo and have another shot to claim the crown.
“It may be my favorite rodeo of the year,” Medlin said. “I like going to Cheyenne (Wyoming), but going back to your hometown rodeo is something I look forward to so I can see everybody I grew up with and see people I don’t get to see very often. I love roping in Lovington.”